


Memoria

by inkstrain (orphan_account)



Category: the GazettE
Genre: Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-28
Updated: 2016-08-28
Packaged: 2018-08-11 13:18:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7894132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/inkstrain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's time to remember.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Memoria

The air smells flowery and strange, a cross between scented anti-bacterial soap and what he can only describe as a very slow decay. If he concentrates enough however, there it is: the reek of old wood and men's cologne, Kouyou's beloved acoustic guitars and the perfume he hasn't used in a long time. 

It's a bit dark and it's raining, and there's an old man seated by the window. He has an awkward slouch is what Yuu notices first, chin on his palm where his elbow is propped on the sill. There is devastation on the old man's expression, he can tell, but as much as Yuu wants to ask what's wrong, first and foremost (and for the sixth time that morning)—

"Where's Kouyou?"

The old man slowly turns to him, eyes piercing even in his sorrowful state. He's familiar in a way Yuu can't figure out, but he doesn't dwell. He needs to know where Kouyou is; until he finds the other, everything else is unimportant, at least for now. 

"He went out for a walk."

The reply is a low grumble, the words making Yuu frown deeply as he pushes himself up from the mattress by the elbows. His joints ache and the effort makes him groan. On top of that and as usual, he can't feel his legs. The wheelchair by his bedside tells him all he needs to know but he still asks.

"Without me?"

Something akin to worry flashes across the old man's fading eyes before his expression is unreadable again. 

"He was in a hurry and he didn't want to disturb your sleep. He'll be right back."

Yuu nods in understanding, pushing the covers aside and only slightly bothered that Kouyou isn't here. 

"Did he make breakfast? I'm hungry."

The old man is on his feet and shuffling towards him almost immediately, positioning the wheelchair a bit closer as he helps Yuu onto it with much difficulty. His skin is in folds, soft under his accidental touches, and he's warm in ways Kouyou usually is. 

It makes him smile, and the reply he gets prompts it to widen. 

"Of course he did."

Yuu holds the old man a little closer, feeling his pain. He's not okay, but it's not a physical thing. When he pulls back, he lifts a hand and caresses a wrinkled cheek. 

"Please don't be sad and join me for breakfast. Kouyou's not here anyway."

The old man smiles gently at the touch, but his eyes are sadder than ever, not that Yuu sees because he's too busy wheeling himself out of the room to notice. 

  


Breakfast is rice porridge and tea. 

The old man is shuffling around even as Yuu starts eating, grumbling to himself about irresponsibility. With his mouth full, Yuu watches the other make slow progress from one part of the kitchen to another, speaking only once he's done with chewing and swallowing. 

"What's wrong?"

The old man doesn't even glance at him as he rummages around a drawer, cursing under his breath and quite colorfully too. It makes Yuu giggle, and he doesn't see it, but the old man smiles a little at hearing the sound. 

"I'm not sure where Kouyou put your medicine and I'm looking for it."

He blinks and shakes his head then, tone matter-of-fact and almost bored as he speaks because it's _so_ obvious. 

"Kou always puts all the medicine on top of the fridge. You should check there."

The old man slows down his movements until he eventually stops, glancing toward Yuu unsurely, but he just smiles gently in return, nodding at the direction of the appliance. 

"I'm sure. The logic is, it's near the water. You know how Kou is, he's so lazy."

It takes a while because the old man finds it difficult to lift his arms, but the medicine is right there just as Yuu said it would be, and for some reason when he returns, the old man seems a little happier as he takes his place by Yuu's side. 

"Here you go."

There are six pills in total, small ones in various shapes and colors. Yuu takes them two at a time and promptly says his _thanks_ as the old man finally sits down to begin eating. 

The rest of the meal passes in silence as Yuu listlessly glances at the hallway that leads to the front door from time to time. 

The old man's mood dims back to gray, just like the rainclouds outside. 

  


"Where's Kouyou?"

Yuu is worried now as he looks up at the old man, just as he's draping a blanket over his useless legs. They're on the balcony and from here, the smell of the sea is strong, but he can't see it with all the fog and rain. His hand finds the old man's arm when he doesn't get a response. 

"Is he coming back? Did he leave because..." His voice weakens, hand falling on top of his lap. "Did he leave because I'm crippled now?"

The pause after that is long, and Yuu fears for the worst, worrying his lower lip as he desperately stares at the old man who has stopped moving. At length, he moves away but only to shuffle towards the chair he has placed right beside Yuu's wheelchair, and his sigh is heavy but amused. 

"Do you honestly think he can survive without you?"

Yuu looks away, eyes drawn forward and unseeing as he sighs himself, and sadly. 

"Of course he can."

He gets a snort in reply, a bitter one, and when the old man speaks again, he's definitely angry. 

"Then you're an idiot for thinking I can't live without you!"

  


Yuu turns to him in surprise, dumbfounded, and as he looks closely, _closer,_ that's when he realizes why the old man seems familiar. 

Everything comes back in a breathtaking rush.

  


_Because it's Kouyou—all his years reflected as wrinkles all over his face, weighing heavily on his bent back. Kouyou with his unwavering love and weak hands, his gray hair and..._

It's like watching the years backwards: the old man's hair faded but becoming black again, the wrinkles firming up, the slouch disappearing (but just a bit), those eyes brightening—

Yuu is brought back to their wedding day, when Kouyou, handsome and happier than he had ever been that day, vowed in front of their family and friends:

  


_I promise to love you_  
_For richer and poorer_  
_In sickness and in health_  
_Till death do us part_

 _But even then_  
_I'll love you still_

  


When Yuu comes back to reality, _his_ Kouyou is crying and he is too because _he remembers now._ That they're old, and that they've lived so many beautiful years, years that he forgets almost all the time now. 

"Kou..."

The old man looks up hopefully, and Yuu still thinks he's the most handsome one he has ever seen seventy years down the road.

"I'm sorry. I love you."

And when they kiss, when they hold each other in relief, broken and waiting to fade with age, Kouyou reminds him in a whisper, their bony fingers entwined. 

  


_I always will_


End file.
